Okay, so Vick's "newfound" passing abilities definitely caught the Steelers and Bengals off guard. Won't be a surprise to the Lions. They've had a bye to prepare for this, so I'm guessing Marinelli is got something cooking that is going to keep Vick under wraps.

The Lions shocked the Falcons 2 years ago, and it wouldn't be the first time the Falcons have lost to a team that is arguably the worst in the conference (see our loss to the Packers last year).

So what sort of confidence do you have in your coaching staff to cook up "Vick Rules" and also what sort of confidence do you have in your players for executing them?

_________________Aaron "Pudge" Freeman

November 2nd, 2006, 1:35 am

wjb21ndtown

I have zero confidence in the coaching staff's ability to keep Vick under raps... We haven't really kept anyone under wraps yet, so I have no reason to believe we can control one of the most explosive players in the NFL.

That said, oddly enough, IMO Kalimba is the X-Factor in this game. I hope Marinelli watches the film of our victory against the Falcons... Kalimba's speed and length seemed to give Vick problems... Hopefully we employ a similar "spy" D with Kalimba on Vick, play good D on their WR's, man up with Crumpler, and give them the little runs... That's what I would prefer... That said, IMO there is almost no way we win this game. We're disorganized and terrible on D this year and I don't see that changing. If they've worked out some things over the bye, great. Somehow I don't see it though...

November 2nd, 2006, 1:50 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

IF the Lions do put Boss Bailey back at the SLB spot for this game, they would be smart to allow him to go man with Crumpler, and run the Cover 2 zone schemes with everyone else. By doing that, Crumpler would essentially be double covered all game, and the remaining coverage defenders would be looking at Vick rather than watching the player they are covering if they were going man to man. That would allow the Lions to use their four man rush and not have to assign a 'spy'. Vick has close to 500 yards rushing already this season, so they'll need to play him tight and force him to make mistakes. That's how you beat Atlanta.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

November 2nd, 2006, 6:49 am

fwlion

Div 1 - Starter

Joined: May 8th, 2006, 5:28 pmPosts: 528Location: Behind you. BOO!

On the pass, the longer Vick holds onto the ball while the pressure builds, the better our chances are. QBs that get the ball out quick have chewed us up because the pressure can't build and the LBs don't read and break fast enough yet.

On the run, well... we'll be without Rogers, Cody and probably Hall. 'nuff said.

Oddly enough I believe the key to winning this game is our Offense. Our defense as we all know is horrible and we will not stop Vick, so the offense will have to keep ahold of the ball and have long, time consuming drives keeping Vick off the field. If we can keep up with the Falcons scoring and have a good 4th quarter we could be able to sneek in a win unfortantely we haven't played good football in the 4th except against the Jets.

28-38-Falcons

_________________

November 2nd, 2006, 7:19 pm

phunnypharm

#1 Overall Pick

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 10:34 amPosts: 1427

Quote:

Okay, so Vick's "newfound" passing abilities definitely caught the Steelers and Bengals off guard. Won't be a surprise to the Lions. They've had a bye to prepare for this, so I'm guessing Marinelli is got something cooking that is going to keep Vick under wraps.

I think ESPN has overhyped Vick's abilities once again and tried to brain wash people into believing he is a great throwing QB all of the sudden.

I'm still much more worried about stopping the ground game of the Falcons than the passing of Vick.

Against the Steelers and Bengals.........

18/30 passing for 232 yards. 4 TDs, 2 INTs.

20/28 passing for 291 yards. 3 TDs, 0 INTs.

BUT..............

The Falcons ran for 173 yards (Steelers) and 143 (Bengals).

Vick STILL had the #1 rushing offense in the NFL hitting on all cylinders, which makes throwing the ball MUCH easier.

AND.............

Vick completed only 17 of those 38 completions (<50%) to his WRs.

He still was throwing more of his passes to the short routes.

Just for comparison............Kitna has completed 98 of his 167 passes (about 60%) to his WRs.

THE KEY:

I think the key to is to be able to stop their running attack without commiting 8 or 9 guys to the box. Unfortunatley..........we likely can't do that without Shaun Rogers. When we beat them 2 years ago........the D-line was the key because they helped slow the running game and also pressured Vick without help from blitzes. Dunn had 44 yards on 18 carries (his long was 7 yards). Vick ran 5 times for 29 yards. As a team, the Falcons ran 27 times for only 94 yards (3.5 ypc).

If we can match those numbers on Sunday......I like our chances.

Vick isn't like Brady or Manning......i.e. he does NOT have the ability to pick apart defenses without help from his running game to keep the defense honest.

If they run for more than 4 ypc.............we are in trouble.

November 3rd, 2006, 2:12 pm

lightning_in_a_bottle

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: March 6th, 2006, 1:29 amPosts: 2490Location: The Terrordome

I agree with Kowalski on this one. It should be an offensive barnburner with Atlanta coming out on top, similar to the Rams game.

November 3rd, 2006, 2:46 pm

Jafo

3rd Round Selection

Joined: October 24th, 2005, 6:23 amPosts: 1134

Phunnypharm has hit it on the head. Even with Vick seeming to turn his passing game around we still need to stop the run first. Killer thinks the key will be the offense keeping with, or outscoring, Atlanta, but the defense has to make enough plays for this to happen. That means playing disciplined football. The D-line sticking to their gap responsibility and pressuring while under control with the linebackers and safeties trusting their keys.

Bly had an interesting observation. He noted that Vick is completing more of his passes, but his decision making is about the same. I see this as a major achilles heel. Bly's comment has me thinking 3 things. One, Vick isn't reading defenses any better. Two, when pressured Vick always looks for a particular receiver(s). Three, Vick is more inclined to run under pressure than to buy time for a pass. If we can maintain our rush lanes while pressuring Vick he won't have much room to run and we can make him indecisive.

More importantly, if we do this we will also hold Dunn down. More than anything else Atlanta is a running team and with the running game clicking Vick become more of a weapon. Vick is going to make plays, you aren't going to stop him completely. But without the running game helping him out you're going to slow him down considerably.

1. The "Michael Vick Hype Machine" must be shut down and shown for what it truly is...HYPE! A 1-7 Green Bay came down here and OWNED Atlanta last year (GB beat them in the pre-season, too); you can, too!

2. Atlanta has holes you can drive the People Mover through and the Lions should capitalize on that.

3. They are LAUGHING AT YOU down here! The sports talk radio and Falcons fans are calling this game "Another bye week" and looking over you. The Falcons aren't in the position to laugh at anybody. That 5-2 record is a mirage...looks pretty, but it's FAKE! Chicago has owned Atlanta and you can too! The main thing that pissed me off is the way these inbred cuntry cuzzinz (spelled that way on purpose) have gone beyond the game and trashed my hometown and state! Don't believe the hype, folks. Atlanta is no paradise by a long shot! They have some real problems and areas General Sherman needs to come back and burn down again, hahahahahahaahahahahahahaaaa!!!

GO LIONS!!! Beat the crap out of the Falcons!!!

_________________"You're either part of the solution or part of the problem."

Eldridge Cleaver

Go get 'em, TIGERS!!!

November 5th, 2006, 1:43 pm

Pudge

Water Boy

Joined: August 21st, 2004, 9:34 amPosts: 5Location: North Carolina

Phunnypharm, your analysis is rather simplistic, because you're not factoring in the fact that Kitna & Vick play in completely different offenses. Martz's offense basically uses 3 WRs and the RB as the primary and only receivers. The Falcons offense and most WCO use the TE and RB, along with the WRs. It is even more so in our offense when we have a Top 3 or 5 TE in Crumpler.

Vick hasn't arrived, but it's clear that his play the past 2 weeks is head and heels above his play the rest of his career.

_________________Aaron "Pudge" Freeman

November 5th, 2006, 2:43 pm

Jafo

3rd Round Selection

Joined: October 24th, 2005, 6:23 amPosts: 1134

Looks like Vick is back to reality. By the way, if you watched the game today you will have noticed that Martz used the tightends alot. I don't think Phunny's analysis was that far off.

November 5th, 2006, 9:12 pm

phunnypharm

#1 Overall Pick

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 10:34 amPosts: 1427

Quote:

Phunnypharm, your analysis is rather simplistic

Really?

Atlanta had 9 rushes for 31 yards on 1st down.

.........and that includes 9 yards on a 1st down in the 4th quarter AFTER the Lions took a 13 point lead and obviously were more concerned with preventing a big pass play at that stage in the game.......Without that run, they had 8 carries for 22 yards on 1st downs!

The Lions defense held Atlanta to only 4 rushes of >10 yards!

They had 26 total rushes. Only 4 were longer 10 yards or longer.

Another 5 rushes went for MORE than 5 yards.............BUT 3 of those were in the 4th quarter when the Lions led by 13 points.

In MORE DEPTH............

Against Pittsburgh, Vick didn't have to lead a drive of more than half the field to score their first 28 points........because Pittsburgh turnovers gave them great field position. In the 4th quarter + O.T. it was the running game that moved the ball the majority of the yards on the longer drives.

AS I SAID earlier in this thread.....

Quote:

Vick isn't like Brady or Manning......i.e. he does NOT have the ability to pick apart defenses without help from his running game to keep the defense honest.

Against Cinci..........the Falcons had 14 rushing plays of 5 yards or longer.

They had a consistent running game ALL GAME LONG to keep the defense honest.

Against Detroit..........the Falcons couldn't get good down/distance situations from their running game on first down. That forced Vick to throw when the defense expected it........and he can't do that very well.

I guess maybe my analysis is rather simple.

Sometimes people think football is all about complex schemes, fancy plays, and making things happen.

Then the playoffs come and teams like New England and Pittsburgh stop the run. They tackle well. And they win.